Engineering and manufacturing firms desperate for cyber security talent

A rise in cyber attacks on the engineering and manufacturing sectors has sparked increased demand for cyber security professionals in these industries, TheEngineer.co.uk reports.

Cyber threats have become more complex, organised and destructive in recent times, with high-profile attacks - such as Wannacry last year - elevating cyber security up the priority list for many organisations.

Meanwhile, cyber fraud has become one of the most common crimes in England and Wales.

Companies like BAE Systems and L3 Technologies in the US already have the experience to handle complex challenges to national security, but other less-equipped engineering firms are now on the look-out for specialists who can bolster their cyber defences.

Speaking to TheEngineer.co.uk, Alan Good, head of human resources for the security and information systems division of advanced engineering company Leonardo MW, said a range of skills are in demand, with broadly three groups of people being recruited.

He explained that on the technology side, there is a need for people with skills in providing protective monitoring of clients’ servers and systems. The second group is network and systems engineers, and the third: cyber security consultants, who go into organisations to provide advice and support with regard to information assurance or risk management.

Jonathan Martin, department manager for cloud and security at recruitment agency Networkers, added that these cyber security professionals are going into organisations and looking at things from an information governance perspective.

This is because a lot of attacks are a result of human error or organisations not having the processes to ensure resilience against breaches.